Why do we think that miracles of healings and resurrections only happen in the Bible? Why do we ignore the Holy Spirit when he leads us to pray for a random stranger? Why do we not believe that God can use us in powerful and unimaginable ways? Why do we not participate in the actions that Jesus said believers will do (in Mark 16) – cast out demons, speak in new languages, and heal the sick? This is why – we aren’t living a “Yes, Lord” lifestyle to the things that sound crazy and insane.
Living a “Yes, Lord” lifestyle means saying “yes” to His Word and His commands, “yes” to the Spirit when He tells you to do something strange, and “yes” to Him constantly (not just when you feel like it or when you are on a mission trip). When Christ said to go lay hands on the sick and they will be healed, we just shrug it off as another Scripture. Or, we read about amazing miracles that Jesus, disciples, or Paul performed and don’t think of it as something we can do. But, we can. We have Christ inside of us; therefore, nothing He wants us to do is impossible. Of our own selves, we can’t open the eyes of the blind or heal a paralytic – but with Christ, it can happen. We just need to say “yes” to the Words of the Bible when it says that we’ll perform miracles, so we can believe that the Holy Spirit is working in us and take action. Before this trip, I never thought “Yes, Lord, these commands of carrying-out miracles are for me. Yes, Lord, I should go lay hands on a sick person and tell them they are healed in Your Name and it’ll happen. Yes, Lord, I will obey Your commands of casting out demons in Your Name and the demon will run and flee.” I never thought of experiences that crazy happening in front of my own eyes. But now that I’ve realized God still works in these ways and His commands of somewhat strange miracles are for all believers, I am able to say, “Yes, Lord. Use Your Spirit in me to do miracles. Use the Holy Spirit in me to cure diseases and heal bones. Use Your Spirit in me to do whatever You please anytime of the day and anywhere.”
Since I have realized God wants to use me and other believers for wacky wonders, I have seen so many incredible things happen. My team has laid hands on a little girl who couldn’t walk, and she immediately was able to walk. My team has laid hands on another team member who hurt her ankle, and the pain was instantly gone. My team prayed for an evil spirit to leave, and it left. My team has also prayed healing over issues that were not healed in that exact moment. All of that and so much more was possible because of Christ and because we said “yes” when God said to have faith and to proclaim healing and to proclaim His Truth.
When I first got to Guatemala, we did activation/’ask the Lord’ and I said, “Yes, Lord, I believe You will show me something and that You will lead me in whatever You want me to do in this next hour” the Lord showed me an image in my head of a flower next to a bird with a long beak. At first, I thought it was just my own random thought of an image, but I told my small group anyways. As we walked around, we felt led to go talk to an elderly, poor, crippled man. We spoke to him for a minute, and he told us that he didn’t really have a relationship with Christ. We prayed for him to know the Lord and for healing over his body. Neither happened at that moment; however, as we walked away my leader asked me again what image I had seen earlier. I proceeded to tell him, and then he asked me if I noticed the old man’s shirt (which I hadn’t). Apparently, the elderly man’s shirt had a patch with a flower next to a bird with a long beak. I teared up because I was so amazed and felt the confirmation that God does do crazy things. Later, a different small group of my team told me how they ran into the same man. They prayed with him, and the man accepted Christ into His life. We said “Yes, Lord” to walking up to a stranger, and a miracle of salvation happened.
That being said, this is not just a “Yes, Lord, because I am on a mission trip You can do this through me” or a “Yes, Lord, because right now is a specific time set aside for listening to you.” This trip has not only taught me that God is capable of all of these wonders in my life, but that He is also capable of doing them not just during a set aside time or just on a mission trip, but at home and during my day-to-day life. I just need to be constantly listening to the Spirit and saying “Yes, Lord, I’ll go pray healing over that stranger next to me in the Walmart line” or “Yes, Lord, I’ll go tell that demon to leave that man in the McDonalds.” God is very capable of awesome miracles and He doesn’t just want to do them on a mission trip in Guatemala. He wants to do them everywhere and through every believer. He wants you to live a “Yes, Lord” lifestyle to all of His personal callings on you and to all of His Biblical commands. Have faith that God still performs crazy miracles, because He truly does.
(Side note – I got a note from a kid at the school I am serving at that says, “I love you, Gringa.” So, here’s a picture of it to enjoy…)
